1 PTC man dies, 1 injured in lightning strike

Fri, 07/13/2012 - 2:42pmBen Nelms

Peachtree City resident Burnette Hayes died after an apparent lightning strike Friday afternoon at the Battery Way boat ramp on Lake Peachtree. A second man regained consciousness while emergency crews were at the scene.

Peachtree City Fire Dept. public information officer Ron Mundy said the department received a call for medical assistance at 5:37 p.m. at the Battery Way boat ramp on the east side of Lake Peachtree. Emergency responders arrived in just over three minutes and located two men, both in their 50s, just south of the boat ramp, Mundy said.

Mundy said Hayes, 52, was in cardiac arrest when crews arrived at the scene. Hayes did not respond to advanced life support assistance and was subsequently transported to Piedmont Fayette Hospital.

The second man, whose name and address is also unknown, had been unconscious, Mundy said, and became slightly coherent when emergency crews rendered aid. He was transported to Atlanta Medical Center. The man's condition is also unknown, said Mundy.

Lightning is suspected to be the cause of the injuries based on reports from bystanders who noted a storm that passed over the area and due to evidence from trees in the immediate vicinity, Mundy said, adding that the two men were believed to have been standing between two trees near the south side of the boat ramp when the storm hit.

Seems a fisherman nearby, Kurtis Jeffcoat, saw the strike and initiated CPR and had another person call 911.

On Friday, the 13th, no less. You just never know. My sympathies to the family. We all know this place so well. Mostly, the storms come from the northwest across the lake and you can see them coming. This one, instead, came up from the southeast.